Method of lasting the toes of shoes



Aug. 4, 1964 w. A. VORNBERGER 3,142,351

METHOD OF LASTING THE TOES OF suoss Filed June 7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. Wa/fer A. l ornberger MM/IW ATTY Aug. 4, 1964 w. A. VORNBERGER 3,142,851

METHOD OF LASTING THE TOES 0F SHOES Filed June 7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,142,851 METHOD OF LASTING THE TOE 0F SHGES Walter A. Vornberger, Medford, Mass, assiguor to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass. Filed June 7, 1961, Ser. No. 115,405 Claims. (Cl. 127.1)

This invention relates to the lasting of the toes of shoes, particularly pointed toe shoes.

In the lasting of the toes of pointed toe shoes by wiping the lasting margin of the shoe upper down upon the insole while the upper and insole are mounted on a last having converging sides meeting at a relatively sharp tip, it has been found that the crowding together of the margin at the relatively sharp toe causes the upper material to form pleats and to create stresses which can crack the upper stock under the pressures generated during wiping. In addition, the pleats are undesirable and must be removed before the subsequent outsole laying operation can be performed.

An object of this invention is to overcome the foregoing disadvantages by providing a novel method of lasting the shoes. The method comprises the steps of first wiping the upper material at the toe of the shoe located along the sides leaving unwiped the upper material located at and adjacent the tip. This is followed by a wiping of the upper material at and adjacent the tip and concurrent cutting into the pleats formed in the wiped margin. By these steps, there is no wiping stress at the tip when the pleats are formed and the pleats are cut at the time of applying wiping stress to the tip, thereby alleviating the undesirable stresses in the upper margin and cutting the undesired pleats.

The apparatus employed for carrying out the afore said method comprises a pair of wipers having coplanar undesrsurfaces, forwardly divergent side surfaces and opposed side surfaces located rearwardly of the divergent surfaces. A bridging element somewhat similar to that disclosed in Patent No. 3,087,177 and Patent No. 3,059,- 256 is provided that extends laterally from the opposed surface of one wiper into a groove in the opposed surface of the other wiper. The bridging element of the instant application, unlike the bridging element of the above cited patents, is bevelled at its forward end so that its upper and under surfaces meet at an acute angle to form a sharp cutting edge located above the undersurfaces of the wipers and the bridging element. Means are provided to move the wipers forwardly toward the last and to concomitantly move the forward ends of the divergent surfaces inwardly toward each other and to move the opposed surfaces away from each other to thereby cause the divergent surfaces to move across the last and wipe the side portions of the lasting margin upon the insole followed by a movement of the bridging element across the tip of the last to last the tip portion of the lasting margin and concomitantly cut the pleated material.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a lasting machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the lasting machine with the cover of the machine removed to expose the wipers to view;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the wipers in a retracted position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the wipers in an advanced position;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the wiper having the bridging element;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the wiper having the bridging element taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the wiper having the recess that receives the bridging element; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional schematic representation of the bridging element as it engages the shoe.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the machine comprises a frame 18 carrying wipers 10, 12 supported on a wiper support 14 for sliding movement in a horizontal plane toward and away from a shoe support 16 made substantially in accordance with the shoe support disclosed in Patent No. 2,668,967. The shoe support comprises a toe rest 20 and a heel pin 22 mounted on a carriage 24- for vertical movement toward and away from the plane of movement of the wipers. The piston rod 25 of a fluid actuated motor 26 is connected to the carriage 24 to effect its vertical movement.

The wipers are mounted in wiper cams 28 having cam slots 36 and 32 extending therethrough. The wiper support 14 has upstanding pins 34 and 36 that fit in the slots 38 and 32. The wiper cams are pivotally connected by links 38 to a slide 40 that is slidably mounted on the wiper support. The slide is connected by linkage 42 to the piston rod 44 of a fluid actuated motor 46 to effect horizontal movement of the slide.

Control linkage 43 is operatively connected to the motor 26 through a valve 59 to effect the vertical movement of the piston rod 25 and the carriage 24. The motors 26 and 46 are operated through a handle 52 in such a manner that horizontal movement of the handle causes a corresponding horizontal movement of the wipers, and rotation of the handle about its axis causes a corresponding vertical movement of the shoe support. Reference is made to Patent No. 2,888,693 for a more detailed disclosure of the mechanism for moving the wipers and shoe support in response to the manipulation of the handle 52.

If it is found desirable, flexible shoe conforming means 54, similar to that disclosed in Patent No. 3,060,468, may be provided. The shoe conforming means includes a deformable yoke 56 positioned below the path of movement of the wipers and adapted to embrace the shoe and snugly conform the shoe upper to the shape of the last which is mounted on the shoe support during downward movement of the shoe support.

The wipers 10, 12, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 7 are thin plates, preferably made of steel, having substantially flat upper surfaces 58 and 60 and substantially flat undersurfaces 62 and 64. The upper surfaces 58, 60 and the undersurfaces 62, 64 are located in common planes when the wipers are assembled in the machine. The wipers have divergent side surfaces 66 and 68 that are adapted to embrace the end of a shoe and which meet at a point 70 when the wipers are in their retracted position. Rearwardly of the point 70, the wipers have opposed side surfaces 72 and 74 that are in abutting relationship when the wipers are in their retracted position.

A pair of substantially semi-circular complemental recesses 76 and 78 are provided in the wiper undersurfaces 62 and 64, the recesses intersecting the surfaces 72 and 74. A bridging element 80 is secured in the recess 76 and extends into the recess 78 when the wipers are in their retracted position. The bottom surface 82 of the bridging element is coplanar with the wiper undersurfaces 62 and 64, and the forward portion of the bridging element is bevelled on its upper and under surfaces to provide a sharp cutting edge 84 located above its undersurface 80 and rearwardly of the point 70.

The above described wipers are intended primarly in the lasting of the toes of shoes having relatively sharp points at their toe ends. The wiper side surfaces 66 and 68 and the cam clots 30 and 32 are so constructed that forward movement of the slide 40 causes the wipers to move forwardly and at the same time swing toward each other about an axis located forwardly of the point 70. A last 86 having a shoe upper 88 and insole 90 assembled thereon (see FIGS. 4 and 8) is placed bottom up on the shoe support 16 with the toe of the last resting on the toe rest 20 and the heel pin 22 inserted in the conventional spindle hole in the last. The support 16 is initially positioned so that the upwardly facing surface of the insole 90 is above the undersurfaces of the wipers. The shoe support is lowered to a postion where the upwardly facing surface of the insole is positioned below the undersurfaces of the wipers an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the lasting margin. During this downward movement the shoe conforming means 54 causes the upper to snugly conform to the shape of the last and the lasting margin 92 of the upper to extend upwardly of the insole.

Adhesive may now be applied into the angle between the lasting margin and the insole to adhesively bond the lasting margin to the insole during the subsequent wiping operation. Alternatively, precemented uppers, having pressure sensitive adhesive thereon which becomes activated under the pressures generated during wiping, may be used. It is also within the purview of the invention to secure the lasting margin to the insole by conventional fastening means such as tacks or staples after the wiping operation.

After the aforesaid downward movement of the shoe support, the motor 46 is operated to move the wipers forwardly and cause them to wipe or fold the lasting margin of the upper at the toe end thereof down against the insole moving the wipers from the FIG. 3 position to the FIG. 4 position. During this movement, the surfaces 66 and 68 move toward each other at the forward ends, and the rearward ends of the surfaces 66 and 68 and the surfaces 72 and 74 move away from each other. This results in the surfaces 66 and 68 moving over the sides 94 and 96 of the last rearwardly of the tip of the last to wipe the lasting margin along the sides of the last, leaving unwiped the lasting margin at the tip of the last. This wiping action causes pleats 98 to be formed in the wiped in lasting margin between the wipers adjacent the tip of the last. The separation of the surfaces 72 and 74 causes the bridging element 80 to be exposed so that it moves against the tip of the lasting margin left unwiped by the wiper surfacs 66 and 68 soon after they have moved over the last. The undersurface 82 of the bridging element serves to wipe the portion of the lasting margin at and adjacent the tip down against the insole while the cutting edge 84 serves to cut the pleated upper material as indicated in FIG. 8. By making the undersurface 82 of the bridging element coplanar with the wiper undersurfaces and providing the cutting edge 84 above the surface 82, the bridging element serves to both wipe the upper margin at and adjacent the tip and cut the surplus upper stock crowded together at the toe.

During the forward movement of the wipers over the insole, the motor 26 is operated to apply an upward force and thereby provide pressure between the insole and the wipers, and at the termination of the forward movement of the wipers the pressure may be increased to iron or bed the lasting margin. At the completion of the lasting operation, the shoe support is lowered by the motor 26, the wipers are retracted by the motor 46 and the shoe support is then raised to its initial position by the motor 26.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of lasting the toe end of a shoe, wherein the shoe upper and insole are mounted on a last having converging sides meeting at a relatively sharp tip at the toe end of the last and wherein the upper has a lasting margin extending upwardly from the insole at the toe end of the last, comprising the steps of: engaging the portions of the margin at the sides of the last exclusive of the tip with wiping instrumentalities to apply wiping stresses thereto and wipe them upon the insole, leaving unwiped and unengaged the margin at and adjacent the tip, and forming pleats in the margin adjacent the tip; and cutting into the pleats formed in the preceding step while the wiping stresses are maintained.

2. The method of lasting the toe end of a shoe on a last having sides converging to a relatively sharp tip at the toe end, wherein the last is supported bottom-up and has an upper and insole mounted thereon with the upper extending upwardly from the insole at the toe end of the last, comprising the steps of: engaging the portions of the margin at the sides of the last exclusive of the tip with wiping instrumentalities to apply wiping stresses thereto and wipe them upon the insole, leaving unwiped and unengaged the margin at and adjacent the tip, and forming pleats in the margin adjacent the tip; applying wiping stresses at the tip of the last to fold the margin at the tip down upon the insole to cause the folded margin to lie in a predetermined plane; and cutting into the pleats in a plane above said predetermined plane concomitantly with the last mentioned step and while the first mentioned wiping stresses are maintained.

3. The method of lasting the toe end of a shoe, wherein the shoe upper and insole are mounted on a last having converging sides meeting at a relatively sharp point at the toe end of the last and wherein the upper has a lasting margin extending upwardly from the insole at the toe end of the last, comprising the steps of: engaging the portions of the margin at the sides of the last exclusive of the toe end of the last with wiping instrumentalities to apply wiping stresses thereto and wiping them upon the insole, leaving unwiped and unengaged the margin at the toe end of the last, and forming pleated material in the wiped in margin at the toe end of the last; applying wiping stresses to the portion of the margin at the toe end of the last to wipe the margin at the toe end left unwiped by the preceding step; and cutting into the pleated material formed by the first mentioned step while the first mentioned wiping stresses are maintained.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the cutting into the pleated material takes place concomitantly with the application of the wiping stresses to the margin at the end of the last.

5. The method of lasting the toe end of a shoe on a last having sides converging to a relatively sharp tip at the toe end, wherein the last is supported bottom-up and has an upper and insole mounted thereon with the upper extending upwardly from the insole at the toe end of the last, comprising the steps of: moving wiping instrumentalities across the sides of the last to engage and wipe the side portions of the lasting margin down upon the insole leaving unwiped and unengaged the lasting margin at and adjacent the tip, said instrumentalities forming pleats in the upper adjacent the tip in their movement across the last; moving an end wiping instrumentality across the tip, while the first mentioned instrumentalities are maintained in engagement with the lasting margin to wipe down upon the insole the lasting margin left unwiped in the preceding step; and cutting into the pleaded upper material concomitantly with the wiping of the lasting margin by the end wiping instrumtality.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kamborian Apr. 25, 1933 6 Engel Sept. 29, 1936 Kamborian Mar. 25, 1941 Kamborian Sept. 2, 1941 Bowler et a1. Sept. 3, 1957 Dunlap Sept. 20, 1960 Bray et a1. Nov. 6, 1962 

1. THE METHOD OF LASTING THE TOE END OF A SHOE, WHEREIN THE SHOE UPPER AND INSOLE ARE MOUNTED ON A LAST HAVING CONVERGING SIDES MEETING AT A RELATIVELY SHARP TIP AT THE TOE END OF THE LAST AND WHEREIN THE UPPER HAS A LASTING MARGIN EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE INSOLE AT THE TOE END OF THE LAST, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: ENGAGING THE PORTIONS OF THE MARGIN AT THE SIDES OF THE LAST EXCLUSIVE OF THE TIP WITH WIPING INSTRUMENTALITIES TO APPLY WIPING STRESSES THERETO AND WIPE THEM UPON THE INSOLE, LEAVING UNWIPED AND UNENGAGED THE MARGIN AT AND ADJACENT THE TIP, AND FORMING PLEATS IN THE MARGIN ADJACENT THE TIP; AND CUTTING INTO THE PLEATS FORMED IN THE PRECEDING STEP WHILE THE WIPING STRESSES ARE MAINTAINED. 